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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431253">The Sunset Is Almost As Bright (DEArtfest Day 21 - Mutual Pining)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lallygo/pseuds/Lallygo'>Lallygo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lallygo's DEArtfest [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cliche, DEArtfest, Day At The Beach, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, How Do I Tag, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900, Sunsets, Swimming, There's A Tag For That, but they can't help flirting, i love these gay idiots, they try so hard to pretend they're not into each other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:26:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,530</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lallygo/pseuds/Lallygo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin personally tried to dress well, a red tank top and black shorts seeming the best option. He chose clothing he knew he’d look good in. He knew he wasn’t pretty but fuck him if he wasn’t going to try.</p><p>Incidentally, fucking him was something that he hoped Nines would do later.</p><p>-</p><p>Two gay idiots try not to kiss each other all day and eventually give up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lallygo's DEArtfest [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858606</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Sunset Is Almost As Bright (DEArtfest Day 21 - Mutual Pining)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hahaahahahah i spend way too much time messing around instead of writing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The beach. Gavin had been waiting for this <em> all-fucking-year </em> long. Finally, he’d get to take Nines to the beach. It was a feat to get Nines to go <em> anywhere </em> for fun, but Gavin had gotten the hang of convincing him. It was a sunny day, too. Sandy and bright, Belle Isle Beach didn’t usually have too many people and the river was cool and perfect for swimming in.</p><p>He had told Nines to meet him at 3 pm - past midday, but with hours before sunset. He told him to wear something cool, even though he wasn’t sure that he even <em> owned </em> anything cool. Gavin personally tried to dress well, a red tank top and black shorts seeming the best option. He chose clothing he knew he’d look good in. He knew he wasn’t pretty but fuck him if he wasn’t going to try.</p><p>Incidentally, fucking him was something that he hoped Nines would do later.</p><p>He couldn’t lie to himself about his feelings anymore. He’d been into him for months. He preferred to spend time with him over anyone else. Nines was developing a better sense of humour and more clear emotions every day they spent together (a tedious but rewarding process), and Gavin got a little softer and less irritable each time they talked. Nines was good for him. He knew it. He’d stopped hooking up so much. He was getting a little more sleep. Because he needed to be his best, for Nines. God, he sounded like such a romantic but he admitted that he’d never felt this good about a guy for years.</p><p>The wait at the beach was unbearable. He had three choices - get there beforehand, on-time, or fashionably late. Beforehand, he’d look desperate. On-time, it would look like he was waiting just around the corner (which he would), like some kind of stalker or something. Fashionably late was a dangerous game to play. What if Nines left before Gavin arrived, or thought that he didn’t care about meeting him? So he took the risk and looked desperate, getting there 15 minutes early.</p><p>The risk paid off, however, when Nines arrived within a minute. He strode down towards the beach, and Gavin couldn’t help but gape at how <em> little </em> he was wearing. It was more than Gavin, but for Nines’s standards, he was basically in underwear. He had a plain black short-sleeved polo-neck (because of <em> course, </em> he had to look formal, even at the beach) and cream ¾ length trousers. And damn, he looked good. The sun lit up his perfectly white skin, freckles showing just enough to remind Gavin he wasn’t a literal angel.</p><p>“Good afternoon, Gavin,” he smiled gently.</p><p>“G-good… yeah,” Gavin mumbled. “Yeah, hey!” He snapped out of his daze. “How are you?”</p><p>“I am well.” Nines sat down beside him, hands turning over some of the soft sand. “You also look… good,” he commented.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s a great day, huh?” What was that pause? Why did Nines pause before saying good? Was he covering up the fact that he didn’t actually like what Gavin was wearing? What if he didn’t actually want to come? What if -</p><p>“Yes, it is… the sun is so bright. I can cool down easily, but I assume that for you it is a little harder. Are you feeling alright?” he asked.</p><p>“Oh, yeah,” Gavin mumbled, shaking his head a little to clear away the thoughts. “Yeah, I have some water,” he chuckled, patting the bottle beside him. It fell over. Awkwardly, he pushed it back up. “I might go swimming. You want to join me?” At least an activity would stop the horrible small-talk he was subjected to while they were on land. How was Nines so calm? This was stressful for Gavin - having to act cool on a hot day in front of his crush. Oh, no. What if he was sweating too much? That would be gross. He didn’t want to be gross. He <em> definitely </em> had to get in the water.</p><p>“Perhaps I will. The water looks lovely,” he commented, still smiling.</p><p>Oh, thank god. “Great! Let’s go. You, uhh… might want to take off the shirt first,” he recommended, pulling off his own tank top.</p><p>“Of course,” he said after a moment, gently tugging it from the bottom and over his head. Compared to Gavin’s rough movements, he was graceful and… sexy. His chest was hairless, beautiful, and he could’ve sworn he’d seen a chest <em> just like that </em> in his fantasies. Come to think of it, he’d probably seen Nines himself in his fantasies, but he wouldn’t go into that now. He felt embarrassed at how awful he looked. He checked his own chest - hairy, scarred, and rough. Not clean, perfect, and smooth. “So, shall we go?”</p><p>“Let’s head out,” Gavin agreed, subtly pulling in his stomach to make him look a little better. Hey, he knew he’d look good once he was in the water. Why not try to get there faster? “I’ll race you.”</p><p>“You are not as fast as I -”</p><p>“3-2-1, go!” he cried, running towards the river. Nines had to stand up and start sprinting, giving Gavin the headstart. Gavin got there just before him, to his delight. “See? I’m fuckin’ fast,” he boasted with a grin.</p><p>“You are. Well done,” Nines smiled. “It appears I may have underestimated you.” The water flowed around his feet as he strode in, pulling up his trousers just a little.</p><p>“Ahh… so cool,” he moaned, wading in after him. It wasn’t long before they were treading water. He drew some water over his head, wetting his short hair. “Hey, watch out,” he giggled, splashing some over Nines.</p><p>He gasped, blinking. “How dare you?” He tutted disapprovingly. “Well, now I suppose you will have to pay the price.” He splashed back.</p><p>“Oh, my god,” he laughed. “Fuck you!” He began to flail in the water, splattering Nines with the river water.</p><p>Nines played along with the fight, swimming forward and batting at his chest.</p><p>Gavin played along with the pretence that he wasn’t excited by every touch.</p>
<hr/><p>When they finally got out of the water and stayed out, it had been an hour, maybe two. Nines had turned off his time display, not wanting to be distracted by it. He would know when it was time to go. For now, he wanted to focus on Gavin.</p><p>He had been stunned by how handsome he looked earlier, to the point of not being able to find a word that accurately described him without seeming like he was making a move. He had eventually settled for <em> good </em>, which in retrospect, was a highly inaccurate word. He was indescribably wonderful. Gavin hadn’t started like this, but he got more handsome every day. Nines supposed this was similar to the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. And Nines saw a lot of it.</p><p>Gavin was tired, Nines could see. He tried to deny it, but even on the run to the water, he wasn’t as fast as usual. Nines could’ve easily overtaken him, but something inside told him to let him win. It paid off, Gavin smiling as bright as the sun above them.</p><p>Sitting down, the extent to which he was fatigued became clear. “God… my legs ache like hell,” he groaned.</p><p>“You are looking red, too. Did you put on suncream?” Nines asked, genuinely concerned for his health.</p><p>“Ah… maybe?” he smiled, raising an eyebrow cheekily.</p><p>“You need to put some on. Here, let me help,” he murmured, picking up the bottle. He may try to be a gentleman as often as he can, but he would not miss this chance. He squirted some onto his hand. He reached out to begin to spread it over his shoulders but was stopped.</p><p>“You - you wanna, you wanna do this? You sure?” Gavin asked, pitch a little higher than usual.</p><p>“Yes. Are you okay with that? I do not have to -”</p><p>“Do it,” he nodded. “Please.”</p><p>Nines paused. Was he pressuring Gavin into this? He blinked, wiping the thought from his mind. “Alright.” He began to massage the cream into his shoulders. He relished the feeling, smooth hands touching rough skin. He was so… interesting. He looked like he’d been through many battles, and judging from the fact he was still alive, was strong enough to win them. A scar stretched across his upper arm, and Nines paid extra attention to it. Fascinating. He wished he could scar as Gavin did. Running his hands down to his chest, he pressed with the ball of his hand into his muscles. They were taut and soft at the same time. Hair scattered his stomach. It took all Nines’s strength to not dig his fingers into the soft curls and toy with them. Even so, he couldn’t resist flicking his thumbs over his nipples to test for a reaction.</p><p>Gavin sucked in a harsh breath, biting his lip.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Nines murmured. “Did I do something wrong?” The guilt began to set in. He didn’t have permission to do that. Why did he do that? Was his desire really that strong?</p><p>“N-no! That was… that was fine,” he mumbled. “That was great! I-I mean -” he chuckled, blushing. “I didn’t mean <em> that, </em> I just meant… y’know, I didn’t mind it,” he shrugged.</p><p>“Oh. Would you like me to… do it again?” he asked quietly. This was a bad idea. It was all a bad idea.</p><p>“Yeah. I-If you want to. I don’t know, I mean -” He cut off into a quiet moan as Nines rubbed them again. He closed his eyes, keeping his mouth slightly open to breathe while Nines took over.</p><p>Nines spread the rest of the cream over his body, every now and then revisiting that spot to hear another wet sound from his lips. “All done,” he whispered eventually.</p><p>Gavin opened his eyes. “Oh. Okay,” he said bluntly. “Okay… hey, why don’t I go… uh… I don’t know, there’s probably something… over there,” he coughed, pointing away from the beach. “I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Nines frowned. Had he scared him off? What had he done wrong? Was he even going to come back? He hoped so. They had been having such fun. It was almost sunset, too. He knew it was foolish, but something told him that if they waited until sunset, something good would happen.</p><p>So he waited for around 10 minutes before Gavin came running back, ice lollies in his hands. “Hey! They had something, and they said it was android safe, so… Here you go, I guess.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Nines said, surprised. He took the blue lolly carefully into his hand. “You didn’t have to.”</p><p>“Yeah, but I wanted to. As a thank you.”</p><p>Nines didn’t know whether this thank you was for touching him earlier or for the day they’d had. Either way, he didn’t care and started to lick the lolly.</p>
<hr/><p>“Wow… today was great, huh,” Gavin murmured. They sat on the beach still, golden sunset setting the water on fire.</p><p>“Yes… it was.”</p><p>They had spent so much time together that day, yet it felt like it had only been an hour. He had enjoyed every single moment - laughing, messing around, desperately trying to not make a move. There was no doubt. He was in love for the first time in years, and with an android of all people. He didn’t care anymore. He was lucky to have anyone who cared about him.</p><p>Nines shifted closer. Just a couple of inches, but it was noticeable.</p><p>Gavin did the same, and when Nines turned his head, gave him a cheeky grin to hide his embarrassment.</p><p>Nines met his gaze with a chuckle. “You are so sweet sometimes,” he said quietly, though his face carried a sadness to it.</p><p>Gavin widened his eyes. “R-really?”</p><p>“Hm?” Nines acted as if he hadn’t heard the question. “I’m sorry, did you say something?” Bullshit. He was a supercomputer. He heard.</p><p>“Oh, you want me to fuckin’ repeat myself? Okay! Try this one on for size. I think you’re fuckin’ beautiful,” he snapped. Looks like any plan of not making a move was thrown out the door.</p><p>“O-oh. Is that… really what you think?” Nines smiled, cyan tinting his cheeks.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he mimicked, “did you say something?” </p><p>Nines paused, sighing. “I think you are very sweet sometimes. This is the truth.”</p><p>“Thank you!” Gavin barked triumphantly. “I think you’re beautiful, and that’s the truth.” He let his arrogant side take over to stop the shame climbing into his head.</p><p>“The sunset is almost as bright as your smile,” Nines whispered, leaning in close.</p><p>Gavin’s mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out. He scowled, looking offended. “How fuckin’ dare you - I - I can’t top that!” he scoffed.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Nines laughed. “Should I take it back?”</p><p>“Fuck no! Fuckin’... do the thing already,” he huffed, not looking up.</p><p>“The thing?” Nines asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” Gavin said as if he should already know what <em> the thing </em> was. “The thing where you put your lips on my lips and… I don’t know, that’s the basics. Do that,” he ordered. He was taking a huge risk by saying that. He knew he was, but he just could not wait any longer.</p><p>“Fine. I will do the thing,” Nines agreed. Carefully, slowly, he put his hand to Gavin’s chin, tilted his head upwards, and kissed him.</p><p>Gavin melted in his hands, scrambling to grab Nines and pull him close. He got ahold of his hair and the back of his belt. He whined slightly as he felt a hand trail down his side, setting off all kinds of emotions. They pressed against each other, struggling to get ever-closer until Gavin accidentally toppled them over, pulling just a little too hard.</p><p>Nines ended up on top of Gavin, staring at each other awkwardly.</p><p>Gavin burst out into laughter, and after a moment Nines did the same. “Fuck! Way to… to ruin the moment,” he chuckled.</p><p>“That was your fault,” Nines blamed playfully. “But, I suppose, if you wanted, we might be able to create some…” He reached down, playing with the waistband of Gavin’s shorts. “...momentum.</p><p>“Oh. Yes. Yes, make that… momentum,” he mumbled. “Uh, but not here? ‘Cause…” He pointed to the small group of people still on the beach. “And also, I don’t want sand in my pants."</p><p>“Good point,” Nines smirked. “So where do you suggest?”</p><p>“I mean - I - I mean my place works.”</p><p>Nines stood up, offering a hand to help Gavin, which he gladly accepted. “Your place it is.”</p><p>Gavin had a hard time waiting, feeling the urge to kiss Nines again every few minutes. Ultimately the journey took a lot longer due to the pauses to make out, but it was worth it in the end.And for some reason, even when they woke up in bed, in his flat, beside each other the next morning, there was sand in his pants. He guessed that was how beaches worked. Usually, he’d be annoyed at that, but instead, he took the time to thank the beach for helping him <em> finally </em> get with Nines.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote up a quick plan for this before starting, and I'd like to let you know that at the very end of the plan is "KISSY KISSY MWAH MWAH IN SUNSET UWU FUCK YEAH!!" I don't know. I work better with informal plans.</p><p>Thank you for reading! &lt;3 Stay safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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